Since I've turned the age of say, oh, about 21, I've had a lot of new insecurities about myself. These were such things as I didn't feel I was achieving what I should be, that I was not on the path to success and a fulfilling life. That I was only one step ahead of other 21 year olds while at the same time being so far behind the other 21-year-olds I admired. I felt like a failure. This feeling has stuck with me. Until today.
Today my boss/friend (if that is possible!) made an off-hand comment that really stuck with me. He said I was really smart for being 28 years old. I said I was only 25. He said, "really, you're 11 years younger than me? Wow, I thought you were 28 or something. You're pretty smart for 25." All of a sudden it snapped into my head that indeed I was only 25. 25 years old is all!! What have I been in such a hurry for? Just think of everything that has happened since then! 25 years is not that long. That one comment has made me realize I still have a long time to focus on what I want to achieve. Why get hung up on 25? I have far more than another 25 years to become a successful American! 25 is nothing!
I may be in a job I dislike right now and may feel I'm going backwards but I have to look towards one of my heros, whom I know a lot of people despise but I absolutely love, Rush Limbaugh. Here is a guy that was fired seven times, seven times! So many of those times he was told he would never make it radio, he would never amount to anything. And yet here he is, in his late 50's, a huge success, rich, and hated by half the country. My dream, of sorts! What if Rush had given up at 25 years old? He'd be nothing but a loser in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, instead of the huge success (in spite of a lot of people) in Palm Beach, Florida.
25! Not even a quarter century and I felt like a failure! All it took was an offhand remark to again make me feel like I am on the right track.
it's amazing how much life fits in those three years. i think everyone suffers a bit from quarterlife crisis. it's part of life. embrace it!
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